Litter due tomorrow or Thursday

[skysthelimit]

So one more day, or two for my litter. I got the doe bred, she was bred 12/4 and 12/5. Yesterday she started piling hay in the ox, and she had pulled a little fur. Now she's sitting in the box, but there is not enough fur in it. This is her 3rd litter, I'd think she'd know. But just in case, I have unspun lambs wool, and chicken feathers. Should I put something in?

Unfortunately I have to go to back to work tomorrow. The temps have been in the 30's daytime and 20's teens at night. I'm considering taking the box in the house at night. Will they be ok in the day? The water in the bottles froze in the daytime today. The house is not heated while I'm at work, so it will be not much warmer in here than outside. I could always take them to work with me?<br /><br />__________ Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:41 pm __________<br /><br />I should probably say that there isn't any real power out to the barn, just an extension cord, and it's plugged up to the light for the chicks in the brooder. I don't want a heater in there. I've lost 6 weeks of good sleep, jumping up several times at night, making sure my barn didn't burn down from the light. I would never be able to sleep with a space heater on in the barn.

 

[MaggieJ]

Most does wait until the kits arrive to pull more fur. If she has successfully raised litters, then I would tend to trust that she will be fine this time too. If the kits are kindled in the box and are well covered with fur, they should be fine. Taking them in is an option, of course, but it is one I would only use if the temperatures were extremely severe or the doe was inexperienced or unreliable. You have to find your own comfort level with these questions, weighing probably risk against the extra work and inconvenience. Most people breeding rabbits in winter occasionally lose a litter to chilling, no matter how hard they try to prevent it.

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

Most does wait until the kits arrive to pull more fur. If she has successfully raised litters, then I would tend to trust that she will be fine this time too. If the kits are kindled in the box and are well covered with fur, they should be fine. Taking them in is an option, of course, but it is one I would only use if the temperatures were extremely severe or the doe was inexperienced or unreliable. You have to find your own comfort level with these questions, weighing probably risk against the extra work and inconvenience. Most people breeding rabbits in winter occasionally lose a litter to chilling, no matter how hard they try to prevent it.

I agree with mamasheepdog. Most does will wait till last minute to pull fur.

 

[JueLee]

I've got one doe raising an igloo litter. It snowed heavily just before she kindled at Christmas and she packed the inside of the box around her nest with snow. There wasn't a huge amount of fur so I was sure they'd freeze, so I dug it all out and packed in extra straw instead. She disappeared the extra straw and packed in yet more snow, so I gave up and left it there. All 9 kits are doing just fine, and the box is still packed with snow.

My temps have been about the same as yours, though a bit warmer in the day time.

Here's the nest today. They are just about ready to start venturing out of the box on their own. And I was wrong. This doe only had 7 kits. Her neighbor had 9.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sky,

My friend brooded some chicks one year by making a nest of angora rabbit wool for them. I would go ahead and put the lambswool in there, but cut the fibers so they aren't long enough to wrap around a leg. If she pulls enough fur after kindling and doesn't need it so much the better. I don't know about the feathers- I think chickens are kind of dirty, so would be afraid of introducing disease, especially if the feathers were gathered not plucked. I have nothing against chickens, mind you- we have a flock ourselves.


JueLee-

how'd she get the snow in there? Did you give her a kid's sand shovel to scoop it with?

Snow is an excellent insulator, but that just takes the cake. Better hope you don't have a sudden warm spell!

 

[seagullplayer]

I use to breed my meat rabbits in the winter, just my opinion:

I think in the winter you are better off with a wooden nest box. I normally used metal ones, but they transfer the cold to easy.

I also found it helpful to insulate the underside of the box, even with just a couple of sheets of cardboard.

My cages where on the outside wall of my drafty old barn, I also put cardboard (pizza boxes) between the cage and barn wall to stop cold drafts.

I think in just about every case if I lost a baby in winter it was because it stumbled out of the next box and died on the wire. A good mother will do a good job making the nest.

If this is her third litter and she didn't have much trouble before, I think you will be fine.

BTW: I only had an extension cord to my barn as well, just enough power to turn an overhead light on so I could see at night.

 

[skysthelimit]

Thanks everyone. My mind is a little more at ease, now. I'm at work, and dying to get home. What an awfully cold morning, all bottles frozen. I'm stopping to get more crocks, then flying home to see if she's kindled already. I'll cover her cage with a blanket, and give her more hay for now, and put something under the nest box.

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__________ Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:31 pm __________

No babies yet. How long do I wait until she bred again?

__________ Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:32 pm __________

.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:32 pm __________<br /><br />

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I would wait until day 36 at least....

 

[skysthelimit]

8 live one dead, six are dark, two are pink. Wondering if the two pink are REW, I'm looking up the website on kit colors.